Subterranean termites otherwise known as white ants are a major problem for household owners in Australia and particularly in sub-tropical areas such as South East Queensland. These termites have a habit or predisposition for infesting structures containing timber frames such as the average home and eating away at timber in the structure including the timber frame. The problem is exacerbated by the fact the termites often enter a structure without being detected. Further once established inside a structure they often do not show any visible external signs of their presence. As a result they can cause extensive damage to a structure by eating timber, eg of a timber frame, before their presence is noticed.
Termites often enter a structure by coming up from the ground through or around cracks in a concrete slab or timber members forming the floor. They can pass through small holes in the external brickwork or sheeting or cracks in the concrete slab or timber floor. Suffice it to say that they can pass through extremely small openings and their presence within a structure is often not visible from a visual inspection of the house both internal and external. Once they have passed upwardly through these openings to a position where they are above the floor they have unlimited access to the timber frame of the structure. The frame comprises a plurality of rectangular frames comprising rectangular members that are plates and vertical members that are studs covered by an internal wall sheeting and an external wall cladding. Timber frames are generally made out of a variety of different timbers. The termites can move along the plates, in particular the lowermost plate and up and down the studs. Termites must live in darkness and as a result they are attracted to the darkness within the walls cavities inside the walls of the home.
Three ingredients are necessary to sustain termite activity. The first is shelter in a dark environment. The second is food to eat which is timber and the third is moisture. Moisture is usually provided by leaking plumbing fixtures or leaking walls in the kitchen or bathroom.
The cost of repairing structures infested with termites is high. This is because damage is done to the underlying framework which then needs to be replaced. The annual cost of termite damage to home owners in Australia is staggering. Many different types of timbers are used in timber frames in houses.
Existing management protocols typically rely on regular inspection of structures by pest control inspectors to endeavour to identify the existence of termites early on and before they have caused damage to the structure. Typically these inspectors inspect the concrete slab, roof and wall cavities and general garden area of a house to look for evidence of termite invasion. These inspections might typically be conducted once a year. Inspectors use infra red detectors, moisture detectors and pin head cameras inserted into a wall cavity to find the termites. These techniques are well known in the art and do not form part of this invention.
Regular inspections of a structure for evidence of termite presence are very important. Left unchecked termites will literally eat the entire underlying frame structure of a house.
However the cost and effort of having an annual termite inspection conducted by a pest control professional is too high for many people. Applicant has established that the majority of home owners in Queensland do not have regular termite inspections. In fact many home owners have never had a termite inspection conducted. In addition this practice of having annual inspections has its limitations. Termites can effect a lot of damage in the time between annual inspections.
It is not practical to treat a house for termite infestation until termite infestation and the location of the termites has been identified. Once the termites have been found they can be treated using existing treatment techniques. Again these techniques would be well known in the art and do not form part of this invention.
Clearly therefore identifying the early presence of termites in a structure remains a challenge in termite control. Clearly it would be desirable if a system could be devised to enable home owners to regularly inspect their homes themselves for the presence of termites in between regular pest control inspections. It would also be desirable if such a system allowed for very frequent checks, eg every month or every fortnight in high risk areas.